


Time Unraveling

by NamesNamesandMoreNames



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Percival Graves is mentioned, Slytherin Hermione Granger, The Marauder's Map, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2019-11-12 10:21:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18009119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NamesNamesandMoreNames/pseuds/NamesNamesandMoreNames
Summary: Hermione Granger has traveled through time to 1977, had her name changed to Hermione Graves, been sorted into Slytherin. Problem is she keeps forgetting this fact and between the innocent Death Eater following her around like a lost puppy, researching Time Displacement and being the first "exchange student" in Hogwarts History she really can't afford to be forgetting her time.





	1. She Couldn't Remember

Another year at Hogwarts. Another mistake. Another adventure. Another encounter. Another incident. Another Accident. That's what this was, an accident.

One might think that the years at Hogwarts would start to bleed together, that's what school did after all. Schedules make each day into a pattern, the more you learn the less you remember the individual lessons. That was how Hermione remembered Muggle school. All throughout her second year she waited to start confusing days, did she learn how to turn a teacup into a kitten this year or last, what were the exact wand movements for the Colour Change Charm, she expected to forget something. But there is about magic that refuses to be forgotten. And she hadn't forgotten a single lesson since coming here.

So the fact that she couldn't remember walking into that first lesson almost immediately started to worry her. The fact that she didn't recognize anyone in class is really what had her scared. In fact, she was almost positive she was in Forest of Dean with Harry mere seconds ago. She knows something is wrong. Something is wrong wrong wrong. And she couldn't remember-

"Miss. Graves?" The professor said from the front of the class. She had never heard the name Graves before and there were never new people at Hogwarts. "Miss. Graves?" Professor Slughorn repeated he's not in the front of the class anymore though, he's right in front of her. Staring right at her.

"Sorry, me?" She stuttered before she could stop herself because she had never heard the name Graves before. Hermione had been thoroughly confused but she still knew who she was. And despite Slughorn's opinions on her unfounded talent due to her unfortunate blood statue, he knew who she was- she was a top student last year, she was in the Slug Club. It just added to her utter confusion.

"Yes," the professor tutted annoyed at her apparent spaciness. "I asked you if you were too busy daydreaming to complete your assignment."

She probably looked like a deer in headlights. "I'm sorry, sir. Um- I-" she paused for a second staring up at the strange, yet familiar figure of authority that was almost definitely getting her name wrong. "May I be excused? I think I should go to the infirmary?"

"Oh, oh dear. Yes of course," he said his face falling suddenly looking strangely nervous. "I thought I told you all if you're feeling ill to go straight there, I can't have your sick getting in any of the potions. Especially, not today. Go, Miss. Graves. "

Hermione collected her things- her unfamiliar leather bag, her unfamiliar quills, her unfamiliar journal emblazed with an unfamiliar coat of arms- and just stood outside of the classroom suddenly realizing she had nowhere to go from there. She had never lost time before, not even when she was using the time turner and Professor McGonagall had told her it was a common side effect of Temporal Displacement. She had never left class early either.

In her confusion, she let her legs take the lead- still not having decided where she was going- she started on the path to the infirmary unsure that it was where she was supposed to be. Her brain was clogged up with a hundred different possibilities of what was going on, there was a war a muggleborn registration and absolutely no way she could be at Hogwarts right now. There were certain symptoms she believed she was showing the signs of but even considering the possibility made her sweat. If she considered it— there was a hundred percent chance she had broken a few thousand laws already and going to the infirmary wasn't going to help her.

"Graves," she heard someone whispered around the corner. She couldn't see them and the name, still somewhat foreign to her ears, threw her even more off center. "You okay?" It was a male voice, a voice that gave an impression of familiarity that was not there.

She answered before she could stop herself, "I- Yes, I'm fine. Go back to class." Turning around as she addressed this stranger. She would now be embarrassed to say the first thing she noticed about him was his tie: silver and green. The people she had known who wore that tie had never been nice to her, they never stopped her in the hallway to do anything but torment her and her friend. "I don't want your help." She snapped not knowing how to proceed. She turned on her heel, sped up and tried not to let her mind wander. Hermione's prediction no matter how terrifying it was becoming more and more likely. With every passing second, she felt something else terrible, another symptom. And even if she could have imagined the nausea or the fever she could have sworn she had, the grayish blotches on her hands left her with only one possible conclusion: Temporal Displacement. Something she had only known as a theory, something made up by the ministry. Something that had never actually happened, with no recorded cases. Sure, books have mentioned it "in theory" and "in undisclosed cases" but she knew everything that had ever been written about it, it was all far too vague to be true.

"Are you sure? Because you look like you're going to be sick." He told her, matching her speed easily. She sent him a sideways glare, now even more annoyed that he wasn't going away. "Look your new here. Slughorn doesn't want you to get lost."

"I know where I'm going! You're just trying to get out of class. Now go away!" Hermione couldn't think straight if it was Temporal Displacement this very conversation could've destroyed the timeline. The people she knew could be erased from existence with the slightest interaction in the past. This could… she could have changed anything. Things she didn't even realize she was changing. "Who even are you?"

"Having some memory loss, Graves?" He looked a bit like Sirius or maybe Draco Malfoy or maybe she had been projecting because he was a Slytherin.

"No, I uh- I don't have time for this." She turned in a huff, not particularly caring about who he is when she couldn't even remember tearing the fabric of time and jumping through it. There was no way he could be more important than that. Hermione made her way up the stairs not particularly concerned about the very persistent Slytherin right at her heels.

They were almost all the way to the infirmary, he hadn't bothered her in nearly three minutes when another boy came around the corner. Unlike the Slytherin who wouldn't leave her alone for a second, she did recognize him. Whether it was from pictures or her own mind shedding years off of a man she had only known after years of Azkaban, she didn't know but there was no doubt that Sirius Black was currently walking past her in the hall in Gryffindor robes and a contemptuous glare right at her. Her heart dropped if Sirius was a student she was apparently twenty years in the past.

The boy next to her just barely touched the nape of her arm as they passed him, making her jump a bit and turn to glare at him. Hermione wasn't paying enough attention to see Sirius roll his eyes or the boy next to her tense ever so slightly.

She didn't need to though, "Sorry, I was worried my brother might start something. He is at times quite indignant towards Slytherins and I don't think anyone would put it past him to pick on the new girl." He said. A death eater said. Regulus said. And no matter how true what he had said she couldn't care.

This boy, someone barely her age, was going to die in less than a few years. It wasn't uncommon, she went to school with people who had died in the war, a war that started with Cedric Diggory's death and had taken more with every passing day. But it one thing to know people are going to die, another thing to know who those people are, how they're going to die and stand there in front of them without saying anything. "It's fine, but really I- I can get to the infirmary by myself. Please go back to Slughorn's class."

"I've been in the Slug Club for years, trust me Sluggy doesn't need to see my mug any more than he already does." He smirked. Which was a bit bizarre to Hermione in hindsight, thinking on how similar he might have looked to Malfoy in that moment, but at the time it made her smile. "Besides we're already here."

And he was right. The infirmary looked the same as it always had, a comforting thought after walking through a school that almost never looked the same with visiting portrait dwellers and shifting stairwell at the end of every hall it was hard to find familiarity in on an everyday basis. "Thank you for the unneeded help. Much appreciated and I suppose I uh- might owe you an apology concerning any possible rudeness I may have accidentally partaken in."

He let out a bark of laughter, that sounded almost so full of life it hurt. "No need. See you in the common room, yeah?"

No, she thought in that moment. Because I'm a Gryffindor and he's a Slytherin. It's a miracle we had one civil conversation going near each other's commons might actually start something. She turned into the infirmary with little to no intention of speaking to Regulus again. Without noticing one more unfamiliar, impossible thing that should have been right in front of her the whole time. The silver and green tie and badge that she was wearing.

_#_

She was already in Dumbledore's office when she realized that they must have had this conversation already. Hermione had to be sorted, she had to have a backstory, she, she, she. Graves! Dumbledore had to know that she was here because she wouldn't have come up with that name.

Hermione hadn't spent long in the infirmary, not after she realized that in the bed next to her was none other than a young Remus Lupin. After practically having a panic attack and begging to see Dumbledore she was silently escorted by a young healer that was almost too recognizable as Madam Pomfrey.

So now standing here next to Fawkes, she felt as if she should have déjà vu without remembering what happened next. Knowing the future would only hurt her in this instance because she couldn't see the present. "Miss. Graves," Dumbledore entered within the blink of an eye, seemingly out of nowhere though perhaps that was simply another trick time had played on her. "We have to stop meeting like this."

"So we have met before. I forgot… how many times… how long have I been here?" Her mind felt like it was running a marathon it had not practiced for and Dumbledore was not helping, simply standing there with a smile and a twinkle in his eye. "Don't just stand there! Tell me." She regretted yelling the second after she couldn't do anything about it.

"Miss. Graves," Granger "you showed up in my office for the first time at the beginning of August. It is now the end of September. You have shown up in this fashion almost once a week ever since." he looked understandably annoyed Hermione thought, she would be annoyed in his position but his annoyance now was only out of character and unhelpful to her in this moment. In this moment she needed to be understood, she needed answers.

"Well, I'm sorry about that, but sir-"

"You can hardly help your own Displacement and symptoms. I am well aware." He moved around the desk with an unusual amount of ease considering the situation though Hermione supposes he's had two months to process where she only could remember twenty minutes. "Please sit down, I think we need to refine our plan for these episodes."

"I'm sure I'd agree if I knew our plan." She said plopping her leather messenger bag down on the chair next to her and sat down indignantly.

"You should have a journal with the symbol of your family crest." He said gesturing for her to get it out of the bag.

Even as she went to do as he said she whispered, "I don't have a family crest, I don't have a family." The book that was once on her desk in the Potions room was now gripped tightly in her hands as if she subconsciously knew that was what he was talking about. It was the only thing in her possession that was in Gryffindor colors was there wrapped in brown leather was a symbol she had ever seen before. A yellow bird with a red white crown did the splits in the main shield, the shield was topped off with a knights helmet feathers of gold and scarlet fall from the helm and hold up a banner with an old written script "Spes mea in Deo."

He gave her a sad unwanted smile that she can imagine he had given to a hundred students, "You are very much correct Miss. Graves. Your family died under mysterious circumstances during the war with Grindelwald. You are an orphan from this decade."

"Respectfully, sir? If that were true I wouldn't be here. I can't be here. Not only is it illegal, but it's incredibly dangerous." Hermione shoulders hunched up as she slid forward in her seat. "These people, these students— I know their children, their lives, their deaths. I can't be here. I don't want to be."

"You sadly don't have a choice. I am well aware you are not technically Percival Graves granddaughter. But you need to be here at Hogwarts, we have a registry that updates with all muggleborn students that should come to Hogwarts the following year. Hermione Granger does not exist, it is possible that with your months here she never will, and her name is not on that list." Dumbledore said. "There is no way to reverse Temporal Displacement—"

"How can you know that?"

"Because I asked." Dumbledore stood up and went towards one of his bookcases. He pulled out a thin piece of paper from between two books, the paper tried to curl up without the pressure of the books but with a wave of Dumbledore's wand, the page flew across the room until it was flat on the desk in front of her. At the head of the page was a symbol she knew all too well the broken seal of the Department of Mysteries. "Hermione Granger does not, will not exist. And yet… here you are."

"But—"

"You are Hermione Graves, you were born August 13th, 1961. Though you grew up in London with your muggleborn Mother you were sent to Ilvermorny and sorted into the Thunderbird House. Your school was attacked last year, it is unknown why and you're mother moved you here where you were sorted into Slytherin." Dumbledore tapped harshly on the leather bound notebook she had put on his desk. "You are the one who wrote this backstory, albeit in far greater detail. You created a very ordinary student record and a very common life story, the only thing I did was handle legal proof of your existence and a finding a family tree that would not necessarily be approached by either side of the war."

"I'm stuck?" Hermione asked unwelcome tears coming to her eyes.

"I'm afraid so. You don't need to go back to class now, I hope for both our sakes that this is the last time you'll have to process this new life."


	2. He Wanted to Know

Another moment in time. Another mistake. Another life changed. Another regret. All he has are mistakes, regrets, and memories.

He couldn’t afford to make any more mistakes, he couldn’t afford to look into her. That would be a mistake. She was an unknown, an impossibility, Hogwarts has no history of taking in transfers. He knows that she would be the first, but Hogwarts has very few firsts left to waste on random American half-bloods. He knows that she flinched when the hat called out Slytherin, not necessarily uncommon. He knows that he has never seen her in the Commons, he could have missed her. He knows that misty glance towards the Gryffindor table, into the mere prospect of safety, a look that he has seen all too often as of late. He knows all of this and doesn't care about the explanations, he could feel it in his bones they're wrong. And Regulus had to know Hermione Graves.

However, he hadn't really attempted talking to Hermione Graves. He wasn't used to people not coming to him, he was Regulus Black after all. He was the "spare" of the House of Black- no- Sirius had been disowned. Regulus was the heir, both positions brought the privilege of being the most important person in a room but his new one also forced an air of respect. As arrogant as it might seem, a sixteen-year-old claiming to be the most important person in the room, it was to some degree true. Point is, it was quite the role reversal for him to approach people, and he had even less experience with the whole talking thing.

Not to mention, whenever he saw her she seemed to be leaving. Going to the library or class or away from him, and maybe he should have seen that as a hint, but it only made her more interesting to him. It was embarrassing really that he couldn't even open his mouth to ask her something. Someone who by the majority of his peers would be considered below him or at the very most his equal. So he followed her progress. It wasn't difficult to get the word out that he wanted her information. It was hardly unusual in the eyes of his housemates: if she answered a question they would tell him who asked it, what it was and what her answer was. And soon enough he knew exactly who she was on paper and academically but it didn't even begin to quench his thirst. The more he looked into her personal life the less he found, she had no friends, is never in the common room and left class feeling sick nearly once every week.

Maybe this was the definition of stalking. Maybe he was turning into a major creep. Maybe she didn't want to be known. Or perhaps there was simply nothing to know. It didn't change the fact that after Slughorn's class he went to the library. The same place that she went whenever she wasn't in class because maybe being at her table before her would somehow make him less of a weird, creepy, stalker.

Upon getting there her table was not empty, in fact, her seat was not empty. In it was none other than Lilly Evans, the Mudblood his brother's friend seemed to have an unhealthy obsession with, was sitting there looking through some ancient volume of a Runes book. He sat down anyway. Pulling the redhead's attention up from the book with an exasperated sigh of "Sirius." She realized her mistake the second she looked up but didn't make to move. Regulus wondered for a second why he sat down as they sat there staring at each other, he came up with nothing but his desperate unfamiliarity with social interaction: he could practice talking with a mudblood, it's not like offending her would affect his life.

"Hello," he said in a cautious manner most would only take with someone who absolutely terrified them, maybe Lilly Evans did terrify him. "I- Have a question?"

"Um... okay."

Now he needed a question to ask the Mudblood, maybe in a way that would refrain from calling her a Mudblood. "Sirius?" the name came out of his mouth before he had consulted his brain. "Is he- Is he okay?"

"Yes. For the most part." She said it looked like a weight had fallen off her shoulders and they relaxed as if him asking about his brother's well-being automatically vindicated him of any past wrongdoing. As if he were just a brother of this girls friend, a brother who was in a fight, as if Sirius were still his brother and as if Regulus still cared. Why did he ask that question? "Are you okay?"

"Of course. I- There-" he was once again cautious, all things considered, this conversation wasn't turning out to be a total failure he hadn't insulted the girl he got an answer albeit one that he didn't really want. "He isn't- He's still with the Potter's?"

She tucked a random paper into the book in front of her and closed it. "He is. They are good, he's good with them."

"Family?" He hesitated he shouldn't do that with Graves.

"They're as good as."

He felt suddenly uncomfortable and alone. "I was family."

"Asking, caring, it means you still are," Evans said she shifted closer to him now, uncomfortably comfortable with him. "You can talk to him. Regulus, you shou-"

"No Thank you," He stood up abruptly, regretting sitting down in the first place. "I don't need advice from someone like you."

She looked unsurprised and pitying. She stood up, too, collected her books and bag and looked right at him. "And you asked anyway. It was nice talking to you, you should talk to your brother though. Talk to Sirius."

Then she left. Left him and his regrets.

_#_

Regulus wasn't there when she came to the table, he was on the other side of a bookcase and he saw her sit there completely unaffected by the bag on the chair across from her and completely absorbed in her journal. He has seen her writing in it before she felt sick, almost every time. He sat down quietly within her line of sight pretending to read The Bones of Trolls and Dragons or A History of Magic or whatever it was he picked up, waiting for her to see him. But she didn't notice or at the very least she didn't talk to him. A bit annoyed at the prospect of starting a conversation for the second time today Regulus pushed the book off the table and on to the floor where it made a very undignified smack! with the hardwood floor. Graves flinched as if a gun had gone off and Madam Price loudly shushed the room from her place at the desk. "Sorry..." he smiled at her hoping she didn't think he had done it on purpose.

She glared at him from across the table before going back to her book. "Don't worry about it."

"Good book?"

Not looking up again she scoffed, "No, It's a bit too much horror for me."

"Didn't you write it?" Regulus tried to smile but she did not seem to be joking.

"Apparently." She seemed to be distracted by the book and, despite him being the only one there, Regulus didn't really think she was talking to him so much as she was talking to the void. As if she would answer anyone who asked. He tried not to be offended by what he thought would become a one-way conversation.

"Fiction or Fact?" He asked staring across the table at the girls slanted rushed writing.

"Fact, sadly."

"I'm sorry to hear that," He said trying to think about the last weeks and what could be going on in her life that could be qualified as horror. "Is Slytherin really so bad?"

She paused and looked up at him. "I wouldn't know. I'm not a Slytherin."

His brows furrowed. "Pretty sure you are. I was there when you were sorted."

She looked back down at the journal, an expression of offense pulled up on her face. "I suppose."

"What does that mean?"

She said nothing, now officially ignoring him. "Okay, I know you didn't want to be a Slytherin, I saw you flinch when you were sorted. But Slytherin really isn't that bad, in fact, it's a great house to be in if you know people."

"I don't."

He smiled without knowing why and tried to catch her eye again. "Maybe you could if you tried to talk to someone? Me, perhaps?"

"Perhaps," she looked up once again seeming to see him for the first time. "I don't want to know people. Perhaps I just want to live my life."

"Fair," Regulus smiled nodding along as if considering her point. "I had considered that before sitting down in fact. Then I figured you're brand new and people who are brand new need friends whether they want them or not. So, decided I better come over here and introduce myself. I'm Regulus Black and it is a pleasure to meet you."

He held his hand out for her to shake, she didn't. Instead, she smirked just barely showed that she had any kind of emotion and said, "Though we have technically already met I suppose I should play along?" He nodded matching her smirk. "My name it Hermione Gra-ves. The pleasure is not mine."

He couldn't help laughing just a little bit. "Then I suppose I'll have to have enough the pleasure for both of us."


	3. She Wasn't Comfortable

Like with all things. Like with all people. With all times. They were changing, so quickly that any attempt to keep things the same would only change them more.

That was Hermione's current predicament. Every second she was stuck here in the past she was eroding the future she loved to hate so much. Every second goes farther from anyone she knew, who knew her. She had a backstory that was as close to her reality as possible, her mother was a dentist, she went to the same muggle primary school, she had two best friends at Illvormorny. She wrote this backstory, she practically lived the life of Hermione Graves— but it is where they're lives differed, that she paid attention to. Herbert Percival Graves, her father, was the pureblood scion of House Graves and a legendary curse-breaker. He died in 1968 due to complications with a potion, Hermione Graves would have been 7. Or Henry and Ronald Forman, her friends from Illvormorny— she had underlined their fate until the paper broken, a hidden message from the Hermione that wrote this— they died, they are not coming back. She tried to not to interpret the message as anything more than was on the page but almost couldn't ignore the voice yelling at her in her head, "Hermione Granger died, you are not going back." So much so that she wondered if she had charmed the words to remind her of that. Either way, it didn't stop her from looking for a way back, what did she know about Temporal Displacement anyway? (Quite a bit) Not enough. The research was even more difficult upon realizing she had read every book that she could that even mentioned Temporal Displacement, so she was now even more frustrated by the prospect of learning Ancient Greek in order to find out if Μυστικά που χάθηκαν στο χρόνο was about Time Travel or simply has the word for lost and time in the title.

And then there was Black, Regulus, who was now quite obviously following her making her research all the more difficult. She didn't think he had caught her going to the Room of Requirements yet, but she was beginning to think his sculking about was because she'd technically stolen a book from the Restricted Section. He had definitely seen her reading it. Not to mention his generally annoying persona and the subtle nagging he managed to do whenever they spoke. What annoys Hermione the most perhaps was that she would have appreciated his nagging if it came from Harry or Ron. He would wake her up if she was dozing in the Library or remind her that she had to eat or, the worst offense, sit next to her in every class. It wasn't even that he said anything, in fact, it was that he didn't say anything. He took notes. She had never had a friend that didn't ask to borrow her notes before, not that she minded sharing much, not that she considered Regulus a friend. He was almost like her own personal nurse, making sure she did all of the necessary tasks to stay alive.

"Graves," he whispered from across their study table. She looked up at him unsurprised at the name now, it had been a week since her last bout of memory loss and she was hoping she wouldn't have any more symptoms. "I think we missed dinner. Want me to show you where the kitchens are? You, of all people, will most definitely need that information."

She shrugged just barely looking up at him from her book, surprised at his offer. She knew where the kitchens were of course, but she hadn't really expected him, too. She considered him for a second, as she would have anyone else. Hermione was hungry, she had been in the library since the end of classes today and, now that she thought about it, she only had some bread at lunch because she didn't want to sit at the Slytherin table. But- because there was always a but- if she agreed to go to the kitchens with Regulus he'd probably offer to walk her back to the dorms, the snake pit. "Sorry I made you miss dinner. I'm not really hungry right now."

It was his turn to gap across the table in surprise, "You're kidding, right? I know I'm not your favorite person, Graves. But- you can't skip meals. I don't know you well enough to know if this is a problem with you or if you're just stressed but- you shouldn't be skipping meals."

Hermione's book snapped shut of its own accord. "Neither, I'm not skipping meals," she said but the words felt dry in her mouth, she could feel her heart in her ears. "I just wish you would leave me alone." Hermione suddenly couldn't tell whether the weight in her chest was guilt or an approaching panic attack.

"Fine!" He said he put his head down and started writing something down on a paper. "But eat something." his voice was tight and annoyed and she immediately felt guilty for telling him to leave. But he was already gone, the paper had quickly scribbled directions to the Hufflepuff common room and the phrase tickle the pear in barely legible script Hermione recognized from the note he would eventually write Voldemort. She stuffed it in her bag haphazardly, hoping it would disappear altogether.

She tried to go back to her reading but ultimately shoved that book into her bag as well. Hermione would like to say she was an emotionally aware person, she was, in fact, skipping meals, avoiding the common room and taking out her anxiety and hatred of her situation on the only person trying to help her. She wasn't really thinking about her surroundings as she made her way to the kitchens, if she had been she might have realized someone was following her. But as it was she hadn't noticed anyone or thing behind her.

Hermione tickled the pear in the absolute right spot, expertly jumped over trick stairs and had even taken a shortcut that Harry had told her about. She had been so caught up in her train of thought even as she waited for the elf, Pilly, to bring her some leftovers of some sort- that when a familiar voice called "Granger!" she almost fell out of her seat. It sounded like Harry; Harry had come for her, she could feel her cheeks becoming wet as she spun around. Only to find herself alone, her heart ached as she stared at the empty space in front of the kitchen entrance. Hermione tried to tell herself that feeling was relief, that Harry being here would only complicate matters. That was when a man appeared before her, much like Harry would in her own time from under the same Invisibility Cloak. But she knew it wasn't him, her momentary lapse and longing for her friend behind her, she stared at this man left her feeling just a bit empty.

It wasn't him of course, this man might have had some of the same characteristics but he wasn't the twin everyone had claimed he was. He and Harry had similar facial structures and if they were sitting next to each other perhaps she would have mistaken them for each other, but James Potter was no seeker. He loomed over her at least six feet tall and had a build more reminiscent of Oliver Wood. She stopped staring at him as Pilly came up to her with a large portion of brisket, "Here you are, Missy. Oh, Master James!" Pilly shot across the room and was now clinging tightly to his legs listing off different meals she could make him.

He made a request for some bread pudding and tea before watching her rushing off to gather up all the elves to cook the dish. "So, Granger," He smirked at her as he leaned on the table next to her. "what brings a snake like you to these parts?"

She just barely managed not to flinch at being called a snake. "Its Graves. And I missed dinner, so unlike you, I'm not here for a second dessert."

He pulled out the stool he was leaning over and sat next to her. "I see. Are you sure your name isn't Hermione Jean Granger?"

She paused, for a second at her real name, perhaps a second too long. "Absolutely Positive. Are you sure of your name?"

"James Fleamont Potter at your service."

"I wouldn't advertise your middle name, it's a bit weird." She chuckled despite herself, as she picked up her fork and stared at her meal.

He laughed, "How dared you? Fleamont is a family name. My father's name and it will name my son's name, too!"

She suffocated her own laugh as she thought of Harry being Fleamont. "What do you want?" she asked before taking a bite of her food.

"I want to know who Hermione Granger is. Because she isn't the new snake in the pit. She knows every trick step and passageways that I didn't find until I was a Fourth Year, and I don't think I've seen you talk to anyone outside of teachers and Regulus Black." He looked rather proud that he had come up with all of this evidence that she wasn't who she said she was. Hermione supposed she was moderately impressed- if not creeped out that he had obviously been following her. And that led her to one dangerous and needy thought: if he had already become so suspicious of her that he had taken to following her around and (most likely) checking the map for her... Would telling him really be that bad?

Yes, it would be terrible. And No, she shouldn't do it. But maybe it would somehow work itself out.

She bit her lip and grimaced slightly. "My name is Hermione. Not Hermione Granger- Hermione Graves. I am the 'new snake in the pit,'" she pulled out the crumpled piece of paper Regulus had given her. "My friends told me about the stairs and the passageway and the kitchens. And just because you don't see me talk to anyone other than Regulus doesn't mean I don't. We are in different houses and different years, you don't know me, Potter." She tried not to feel guilty at her tone of voice. She did.

She wished he was Harry for a second as Pilly placed his tea and pudding in front of him. They ate in silence and both knew that they would likely never speak to each other again. She silently reminded herself there was no reason for her to feel guilty about James Potter. He wasn't Harry and with her luck, she was never going to see Harry again either.

Things were certainly changing.


	4. He Needed Someone

People were fickle at the best of times, and finding himself in the worst of time Regulus was beginning to notice he truly had no one. His mother only needed him for "the future prospects of the house of our forefathers", his brother had all but replaced him with James Potter, his friends... they cared more about their own "future prospects" as friends of Lord Black than they did actually being his friend. So, he had no one. It shouldn't have been as surprising to him as it was, but the more he glued himself to Hermione Graves, the more he tried acting like a good friend, the more he realized that he didn't have any friends. Crouch, Greengrass, the Carrows may follow him around now, act as if they hang on every word he says when they like what he says. But he’s beginning to wonder if that's even friendship.

He sits in the Slytherin table with Barty sipping at tea as he and Greengrass discuss some 5th-year Mudblood that scuffed his shoes or scoffed at his face or some other ridiculous thing that shouldn't have mattered enough for them to repeat. Regulus isn't paying attention, in any case, he was watching the door, waiting for Graves to come in and yet he was unsure what he would do upon her entrance. The last few days since deciding he would be her friend he would go up to her as she grabbed a piece of toast or an apple or something else that was in no way enough for breakfast. He'd follow her to their classes and when she was finished with whatever she picked up from the Great Hall he'd ask her how she was. But after everything yesterday he didn't know if he wanted to.

So, even as she came in, he sat. Greengrass and Barty talked over him, his thoughts and his sanity while they discussed whether the Mudblood deserved death or prison for tripping a pureblood lord. They were even more ridiculous than his mother sometimes, they were playing bigots because it was what they thought they were supposed to do. At least his mother had beliefs instead of washed out over exaggerations. His eyes followed her out of the hall. She didn't even seem to notice he was there. Regulus didn't quite understand why that made his gut sink. "What about you?" Barty said turning to him, expecting him to have been paying attention to whatever drivel they were spouting now.

"You know what I think."

"You think the new halfblood is hot. We get it. Are you listening to us though?" Greengrass said his eyes wide and the tone of his voice verging on annoyance.

What he wanted to say was that he didn't need to listen to them to know how the conversation was going, that they were two of the most predictable people he has ever met and if tripping someone was somehow a punishable offense there was zero chance that they wouldn't somehow be sent to prison based off of it. Instead, he apologized, "I've been a bit out of it lately, quidditch is starting up again soon." Ignoring the comment they made about Graves was the best way to go when it came to talking to them.

"As if that's even on your radar, is the rumor true?" the rumor they referred to of course was an unknown entity, he had heard it enough times to be terrified of any truth it might be based on. Regulus was apparently set to be marked a Death Eater over Winter Break, with all the violence that would entail. He would hardly put it passed his mother to set something like this without telling him. It was what she had done to Sirius before he was disowned and it was what was expected of him. He knew it was coming. That's what he told himself at least.

"Maybe," he said as he finished his breakfast "I've got potions, see you guys at lunch."

He got up and left the hall, deep in thought and completely oblivious to the Mudblood witch that had somehow fallen into step beside him. "Hi, Regulus." She smiled up at him eyes glittering and her bag bashing into his side. He tried to figure out if Lilly Evans was now officially the only person who was not related to him to call him by his given name. "Are you going to potions? I have a question for Slughorn."

"I'm sorry, maybe something got lost in translation. Just because I asked you about my brother does not make me the new Slytherin to take under your arm." He said trying to step up his pace and get away from the annoying overly friendly Gryffindor.

She sulks a little at his response, or perhaps the reminder of Snape, Regulus couldn't be sure. She sped up again, however, bruising his leg with her bag, his reputation by being seen with her and his pride because he really didn't think running away would help the situation. "Of course not." She said. "I just figured it might mean you owed me."

He stopped dead in his tracks. "I owe you? For the information on my own brother's wellbeing? That's not very Gryffindor of you." Regulus almost scoffed at her despite himself. In reality, he was somewhat impressed at the tactic she was attempting, she obviously wasn't here just to play nice which he couldn't help but respect. "What do I owe you?"

"An introduction." She smiled up at him in an almost charismatic manner.

"I seriously doubt you'd want an introduction to anyone I know." He said starting to walk again, but she seemed ready for him to try and leave her in the dust.

"Last week you would probably be right. But..." Evans just barely managed to get in front of him bringing their little speed walking race to an abrupt end. "But Hermione Graves is new and seems nice and as Head Girl, I really should welcome her to the school."

He shook his head half in surprise. "She's been new for over a month now. Do you really expect me to believe you're just now coming to the conclusion the Head Girl should welcome the new kid? Really, Evans, I know you were raised by muggles but I never thought you were impolite."

"She's a Slytherin, I was unsure whether it would be... an unfortunate conversation." Her pause was long enough for her to say everything that she might think would make it an unfortunate conversation.

"You thought she might hurt your feelings by bringing up blood status? Good to know you’re just as good a Head Girl as someone who-"

"Fuck off, Black. You of all people know that in today's political climate caution is important." She interrupted his insult rolling her eyes at his obvious attempt to anger her. "Are you going to introduce us or not?"

"Not. Your Head Girl-why the hell would you need an introduction from me? Now let me get to class, Evans." It was his turn to roll his eyes and step around her. He could feel her following him all the way to Slughorns class in silence. Regulus didn't know if her presence annoyed him more with or without the addition of conversation.

_#_

"Hi, I'm Lily Evans and I'm your Head Girl this year. Sorry, I haven't been by to introduce myself before I hope you can understate how difficult it is to get everything done at the beginning of the year." Regulus decided that her voice was much too grating to not be considered more annoying than her mere presence. He sat down in his seat next to Graves and stared up at the board. Slughorn's handwriting scrawled Polyjuice and the necessary ingredients were printed cleanly underneath despite the fact that they were also in all of their books.

Graves was still at his side as Lily and her chatted about finding her way alright and how if she had any questions she shouldn't hesitate to ask her or James Potter. Regulus watched as they chatted and Hermione seemed to fall into an almost familiar lull that she never had with him despite knowing him for five weeks and Evans for barely a minute. He stood up and shuffled over to gather the ingredients for Polyjucie, knowing that if he were to wait for Slughorn to come in the class would crowd around the cabinet.

When he got back Evans was discussing whether they should meet up after classes were over today to further discuss her questions. Regulus couldn't help but wonder why Graves hadn't asked him any of her questions when they saw each other almost every day. "Yeah... Um, that would be nice? Maybe tomorrow instead? I have a something I'm looking-"

"Of course! No problem! I'm so glad I had a chance to talk to you!" Evans interrupted, she really should consider not talking over people if she didn't want to be rude. Before Graves seemed to realize what she had agreed to Evans was walking out of the room. "Oh, and if you want you can bring Regulus! I know you guys are usually there together anyway."

She swiftly left the room without any attempt at a proper goodbye, leaving them alone with a few overzealous Ravenclaws. "She's certainly bubbly..." Graves said looking down at their ingredients. She starts shredding the boomslang skin without even attempting to fish the textbook out of her bag. In fact, she starts to prepare all of the ingredients without once consulting the book, all the while muttering about how she really shouldn't be doing something. She then turned straight to him, her knife now chopping up leaches three at a time and with a slightly nervous expression she starts mumbling to him. "She- You're still going to the library today, right? I didn't mean- I wasn't trying to- I don't mind you being at the library with me. I- I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

He looked back at her; hair separated them but he could hear the steady beat of the knife on the table in front of them. "Don't worry about it." He said pulling out his own textbook as Slughorn and a few other N.E.W.T. Level potions students entered the room. "Hey... Graves?"

"Yeah?"

"I can go tomorrow, too. If you'd want me there." He said not looking up from the flipping pages of his Advanced Potions Textbook. He could still see her hair move up and down with the shrug of her shoulders.

"I mean... if you're going to be there anyway, I definitely wouldn't mind." She said. They worked in silence for a while, him looking over the Lacewing flies they had stared stewing they're first day and her very efficiently working with the other ingredients. "Lily is a bit intense, right? Not that she's scary, I mean she's small so... but she's weirdly intimidating and hard to say no to."

Regulus nodded considering his short interactions with the witch, he supposed that was quite an accurate description of the witch.

"You should come tomorrow." Graves said definitively, nodding to convince herself. "Who knows what she'll rope me into if you're not there."

"What could she do? Convince you to take over for Posy Brown as Prefect? Actually, that might not be a bad idea, Posy's a bitch..." He smirked to himself at the mere idea of not having to deal with Posy anymore.

"Of course not." She said rolling her eyes at him and chuckling. "But you might be surprised, she actually reminds me of one of my friends from Ilvermorny. He may or may not have convinced me to help rob a bank."

"You didn't actually do it though."

"Why do you think I had to switch schools?" She was joking now, or at least he'd like to think she was joking based on the playful ring in her voice.

"Ahh, so you didn't get away with it?" He asked.

"Oh, we got what we went there for, left on a Dragon."

"Sure." They discussed the logistics of flying a dragon out of a bank for the rest of class. He'd like to say he convinced her it was impossible but she just laughed and said she knew she could do it because she had done it before. They left the class together, their Polyjoice in the right stages and all of the ingredients prepared for them to finish tomorrow.


	5. She Hated Not Knowing

Hermione had always appreciated schedules, she appreciated things being in their place. She didn't-- she disliked things happening out of order, this was part of the reason she hated having roommates. So, upon her discovery that everything was out of order, she was willing to admit she clung to the little control she had. And while Regulus was right, skipping meals was harmful, the control she had over her living situation would not be changing anytime soon.

 

She woke up in the Room of Requirements, she had made it look like a hotel room the night before, as she had every night for the past week. It reminded her that she wasn't at home, that Hogwarts wasn't Hogwarts or at least not the one she knew. And extra bonus-- no roommates. Hermione got up and dressed and pulled a new book from the bookshelf she had the room dream up for her. The books had varied for as long as she could remember, from muggle fiction like Jane Eyre _by Charlotte Bronte_ to a book that dictated the specifics of pureblood etiquette like Household Edict: Proper Conversation in Every Situation _by Juliette Greengrass._ She didn't always like the book provided but she always managed to finish it by the end of the day, which was unusual even for Hemione. She loosened her green tie just enough to see her top button, and exited the Come and Go Room bag in hand.

 

She would regret it almost immediately. Almost because at first glance she thought it was Regulus waiting for her across the hall (which would have created a whole other list of problems), but the regret was that she was now stuck in a hallway with a man she had watched die. Sirius Black could be recognized as the man she had known, with shoulder-length black hair, familiar scars, and tattoos visible where his robes failed to cover them, and a mischievous hint of madness barely hidden in his smile. However, without the years of Azkaban, his eyes met that smile easily and were not sinking back into his skull. "I don't think I've seen this room before." He said casually leaning against the wall across from her.

 

She didn't hesitate to respond, having already come up with an explanation for the door in case Regulus ever followed her. "While I would be surprised if you had… it’s a girls bathroom.” Hermione said adjusting the strap of her messenger bag and began walking towards the Great Hall.

He smiled and followed behind her, "You might be surprised how many girls bathrooms I've been in," She could hear the smirk in his voice without turning around. "Not to mention the fact you snakes have your own bathrooms in the dungeons. No need to climb eight flights of stairs to take a piss, which means you're lying… ah Granger?"

 

She sped up, quite annoyed at the Marauders Map for giving her true identity to its creators, "I was already up here and…. My last name is not Granger, its Graves. Like I told your little friend Potter." Hermione could have cringed at how much she sounded like Malfoy when she said that, but the anger and annoyance she felt at the man following behind her was great enough for her to keep her reaction to herself.

 

"Well, I very much agree with the assessment that you were already up here. Your name, however, I am quite sure is fake."

 

Hermione stopped in her tracks, pivoting to look at him. She calmly said, "Mr. Black, I understand that for some reason you and your friends dislike me due to my house placement. That is not a good reason to accost me outside the bathroom first thing in the morning."

 

"Please call me Sirius. I have no prejudices against you for any reason." He smiled down at me. "Though I will admit I'm not a fan of your choice in friends."

 

"Your brother?" She rolled her eyes, starting to walk away.

 

Sirius nodded following after her, "Exactly. I feel the need to warn you about him--"

 

"Consider me warned," Hermione said picking up her pace as she started down the stairs, skipping over the trip step.

 

"-- he isn't a good guy, and I heard you were raised in the muggle worl-- "

 

"I'm sorry, but let's be honest? At least a part of you is warning me against your brother-- because you want to warn him off of whatever path you think he's on. Warn him if you want to. Stop following me around." She said it before really believing it, but as she turned the corner to silence. He had stopped following her and considering she had known him once and now knew his brother's stubbornness, she realized she had probably struck a nerve.

 

Hermione tried not to think of his bruised ego as she weaved her way through the halls, taking a longer path that made it look more like she had come from the dungeons. By the time she got to the Great Hall most of the students have already sat down and started on their breakfast, including, she noticed a brooding Sirius at the Gryffindor table. She avoided eye contact with Lily Evans who was sitting in between him and the blond boy to her left Hermione would guess was Peter Pettigrew. He didn't look like a rat yet, he looked more like a mouse harmless and overlooked but still every bit the rodent he truly was.

 

She shook her head and made her way to the Slytherin table, right near Regulus. He was speaking with those around him in hush voices, she approached slowly so she could for that moment pretend that they were just the schoolboys they appeared to be. "Hi." She was speaking before she could stop herself, they had an unagreed upon system where she would get some sort of breakfast and he would follow her and her mind already begun yelling at her for breaking that balance.

 

Regulus smirked up at her from across the table, the chatter amongst their peers ending. "Hey, Arithmancy first today right?" His confident tone didn't quite connect to his eyes, making her feel strangely self-conscious: they were talking about her. 

 

"Right." She tried not to grate her teeth in annoyance, hearing her mother's voice scolding her from her past.

 

"We should get going, it's on the other side of the castle." She wonders what they might have said before she showed up and how much of what she had said to Sirius was true, what path were these schoolboys on? He picked up an apple and tilted his head in suggestion that they leave the hall now. Hermione didn't narrow her eyes at his suspicious behavior, instead, they simply walked along with the table meeting at the head of the Entrance Hall. Regulus handed her the apple he took, she had forgotten to get anything.

 

"Thanks," She said taking a bite of the apple and cherishing the silence between them, hating the silence a bit too. When she was finished eating the apple they were still only halfway to Arithmancy. "What were you talking about with your friends?"

 

"Quidditch." His answer came to fast. "Do you play?" He was changing the subject, she grated her teeth despite herself.

 

Hermione wanted to push him on it, she wanted him to tell her just how screwed up life was right now, she wanted him to tell her he had a Dark Mark, that his friends were making fun of him for being friends ( _we're they friends now?)_ with a Half-blood _(Muggleborn!)._ But her questions stayed stuck in the back of her throat because she was a Slytherin now, she had secrets of her own that she wasn't sharing with him. This wasn't Harry and Ron who knew her whole life and she wasn't the girl who had nothing to hide. "No, I don't like flying"

 

A very loud groan came from all around her, Regulus said "Who doesn't like flying?" the same second that they passed a tapestry Hermione recognized from the Marauders Map. She stiffened stopping in her tracks staring intently at the hiding spot, she had known the Marauders were following her on the Map or had at least suspected they were, she knew James Potter had followed her to the kitchens and they obviously gotten the name Granger from somewhere. Regulus who had continued walking noticed that she wasn't following him when he reached the stairs. "You coming?" he asked pointing at the stair case moving into a path to Arithmancy.

 

"I'll meet you." She said moving her eyes back to the tapestry, it was the only way in or out of that hiding spot, she wouldn't let them get away.

 

"Hermi--"

 

"I forgot something in my dorm, I'll meet you," she said she tried not to sound annoyed, she failed.

 

"I--"

 

"Regulus, go without me. The staircase will change."

 

"Fine!" he grumbled, his steps hit the stairs heavily as he left.

 

As soon as she could no longer hear his footsteps she stepped forward into the tapestry as if it wasn't even there. That was the trick, like with Platform 9 3/4 the tapestry simply looked solid and like the Come and Go Room you could only get in if you knew it was there. But the hiding spot was seemingly empty, not a soul could be seen to someone who wasn't looking for a rat.

 

Luckily, Hermione was. She went still when she saw it and then went to follow Regulus. She would really have to deal with the map.

_#_

 

 

"You came!" Lilly jumped up from her seat. "I sat at my table but--"

 

Hermione shook her head it was the same table, after all, it was the same table they always sat at, Regulus chuckled. Lilly nodded and sat back down. Hermione sat across from her and Regulus sat in his regular seat. Hermione couldn’t help biting her lip at the way they were all sitting, Lilly with her elbows on the table excited to answer any questions, Regulus leaning back in his chair so far she wondered if he would fall, he seemed tense and then there was her. Hermione felt small, she didn’t know what to say and could feel her shoulders trying to fold themselves into her chest. “So,” Regulus said breaking the silence. “Anything specific that needs discussion?”

 

Hermione wasn’t sure if he was talking to her or Lilly, Lilly didn’t seem to have that problem. “Oh, well, you can ask me anything really— I know you’ve been at Hogwarts for about two months but really anything!”

 

Hermione pressed her lips together. Why had she agreed to this? She had gone to Hogwarts for six years, she had no questions to ask! She knew why she said yes, of course, Harry would never forgive her if she didn’t come back with stories of his parents. That and Lilly’s eyes, she really had given Harry those eyes and seeing them had her caught in a fit of nostalgia. “Uh…” She tried to think of something that she could ask, “You’re a Muggleborn, right?” The second the word muggle left her lips her table mates tensed.

 

“Yes, I am…” Lilly said cautiously.

 

“My mothers a muggle, too,” Hermione said swallowing her nerves as Lilly nodded seemingly remembering Hermione was a halfblood and not a bigot. “She doesn’t really like owls… Is there any way to send things in the Muggle post from Hogwarts?” She already knew the answer was no, she had asked a Prefect in her first year at Hogwarts, her mother honestly didn’t like owls.

 

Lilly’s face fell and she looked at Hermione in consideration. “Hogwarts doesn’t but if you want… it’s a bit roundabout way but I could send your letters to my parents and they could send them in the post?”

 

Hermione was honestly taken aback. “I wouldn’t want to be a trouble—“

 

“It would be no trouble!” Lilly said quickly. Hermione could see Regulus roll his eyes.

 

“Thanks…” Hermione said making a mental note to come up with an address for her fake mother.

 

“Anything about classes or socials? Halloween is coming up you know!” Lilly said obviously excited, Hermione flinched unable to stop herself at the reminder that the girl sitting in front of her would be dead in four Halloweens. “I promise the feast is nothing to be scared of— there isn’t going to be a prank this year.”

 

Regulus scoffed, “Its hilarious that you actually believe that.”

 

“Ja—“

 

“Potter might be Headboy, but even I’m willing to admit the pranks are the best part of Halloween feast and I spent a week choking up fur balls last year,” Regulus said a smile gracing his face, Hermione had to admit she liked his smile more than his smirks.

 

“He promised, trust me.” Lilly said at the same time that Hermione said, “Fur balls?”

 

He nodded at Hermione, “Trust me it’s terrible.”

 

She giggled despite herself remembering her time as a human-cat mix in second year, “Would you believe me if I said I know?”

 

Regulus rolled his eyes, obviously not believing her, before turning to Lilly, “Did the other three promise?”

 

Her silence was answer enough.


	6. He Wasn't Lying

Regulus wasn’t lying when he said his brother’s pranks were the best part of Halloween, if he was honest they had been his favorite part of Halloween since well before they got to Hogwarts. Of course, that was when he was his partner in crime instead of a target. Sirius had only become more creative with his pranks over the years, and even if he ended up paying for them, Regulus couldn’t help appreciating his big brother’s artistry. Hermione however disagreed.

“It’s funny! You’re taking it too seriously.” He defended as he sat across from her in their spot of the library.

“It’s disruptive, I don’t need wrapping paper on toilet seats or overly expensive gimmicks!” She said.  
“Not to mention Halloween is on a Monday, it’s a school day, we should be learning, not waiting for Potter’s friends to jump out from behind the corner.”

“Boo.” A voice said from behind him. Regulus turned around to see his brother in the aisle. “Sorry, Granger, did I scare you?”

He hadn’t, in fact, the look on Hermione’s face was far more disgusted than anything else. “I don’t know about you Shirley but I’m not so easily scared.” Regulus had to admit he was a bit lost, he hadn’t really known his brother would talk to Slytherins let alone playfully banter with his new friend.

Regulus didn’t really know what to say, that last time he and Sirius had spoken wasn’t under the best circumstances and he doubted either of them would really get over it anytime soon. “Hi”

Sirius nodded at him before looking back at Hermione, “You know you could enjoy something for once. It wouldn’t kill you.”

“And you could— take something” Regulus practically cringed before the word left her mouth. “Seriously for once, it might be fun for you.”

Sirius let out a chuckle as Hermione sneered, Regulus, however, was starting to get a heavy feeling in his gut at their comfortability with each other even if they were fighting. Sirius didn’t talk to him and Hermione usually kept him at arm's length. But the way they talked to each other conveyed the familiarity of old friends or even family.

“I do quite enjoy being Sirius.” He said with a smirk leaning back onto the bookshelf. Hermione let out an exaggerated groan looking back at him for the first time since his brother appeared to confirm their shared annoyance at him.

“Dear god, do you have to make that pun every time someone says serious?” Hermione leaned her head back to illustrate her exasperation.

“Of course I do it's in the contract on the back of my birth certificate. If I don’t I’ll end up in Azkaban.”

Hermione’s face went blank and her tone cold. “Leave.” Her eyes flicked back down to the page to make it clear the conversation was over.

“Oh, come on have a sense of humor!” Sirius said but she didn’t look up or respond.

“Would you think that were funny to someone who had been there?” Regulus asked. Sirius looked down at him, the brothers matching eyes met. “Have you ever seen a dementor?” Sirius shook his head slightly in response before waving his hand as if in surrender as his eyes went back to Hermione.

“Didn’t mean to hit a nerve… bye, I guess.” And just like that, his brother was gone without speaking a word to him.

“You okay?” He said to Hermione.

"Fine."

No, Regulus wasn't lying.

_#_

The prank was, in fact, rather fun. It didn't even require time to cough up hairballs or leave anything particularly out of place. Hermione seemed surprised that they waited until after classes. She also told him, she was surprised at the Muggle influence. He bit his lip and picked up a stray pirate hat, apparently, Muggle Halloween could be quite fun.

Hermione smiled holding fake tulle fairy wings. "I dressed up as a fairy when I was six." He almost forgot she was a halfblood. She wasn't the only halfblood or muggleborn in the room that seemed a bit stuck in the nostalgia of the night. Severus Snape stared down the room in disgust, with no costume on his plate. McGonagall seemed to smile at a rather over the top purple witch hat.

At the Gryffindor table, everyone grabbed at different props and costumes they had settled before them. Lilly Evans wore a crown, Potter wore antlers, Sirius and Lupin appeared to have matching dog onesies, and Pettigrew looked like a scarecrow.

"How do you think they did it?" Hermione asked. She was smiling still. He was glad she came down to dinner tonight, though it had taken quite a lot of begging and giving up more pride then he'd thought he'd had. It was worth it, seeing her smile with a golden halo atop her head.

"I'm pretty sure they have an in with the house elves," he said. They weren't the only Slytherins embracing this prank either. Crouch had a cape on and was eating steak so messy and raw that it soaked into the white shirt of his uniform. Greengrass seemed quite happy with a black top hat surrounded by a stuffed boa constrictor.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "An 'in'? The house elves help everyone."

He shrugged. "I suppose… but considering five or six of them work at Potter Manor during the summer, I'd guess they've known Potter his whole life."

"I get why Hogwarts needs a lot of house elves-- it's huge. Does Potter Manor really need them?" she cringes. The rest of the Muggle costumes disappear as the main feast is laid out before them.

"I've never been there, but from what I know of pureblood manors in terms of size verse elves-- it's probably 'huge,' too." He reached passed her on his right to get some stew.

"Isn't it at Godric Hallow?"

He felt face pinch. "I don't think so…"

"Oh," she nodded carefully, clear deep in thought, her usual frown back in place.

"Black Manor is probably small in comparison," he said. "We have more property and elves but the manor is in the middle of muggle London. We have about 10 house elves for there."

She says nothing, cutting through the chicken in front of her like she was carving a human heart. "Cool." He could tell she was unhappy to find this. That this wasn't cool.

The dinner came to an end and they stood to leave, Hermione didn't say goodbye as she heads up the nearest staircase instead of going down to the dungeon.

He considered following her.

But no.

It's for the best he lets her go, where ever it is she goes. Especially, with the small book in his hand. "My Hope in God" in Latin stamped on the Graves family crest.

He wasn't lying. But he couldn't help but feel that Hermione was. It would never be said he wasn't paranoid and sneaky, he was a Slytherin after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, he probably shouldn't have done that...  
> Next chapter guys... I actually already have it done and I will post it sometime next week.  
> Shit is about to hit the fan...


	7. She Was Lying

Hermione needed to look into Blood Wards. Didn't all _pureblood_ manors have Blood Wards that kept out "rift raft" out? The Potters wouldn't have them for muggle-borns but there are other reasons to have them obviously. And even if it was somewhat Grey Magic it would have been more then socially acceptable when the Manor was built right?

 

Hadn't the Longbottom's stayed in their Manor? She tried to remember if Neville had ever mentioned Longbottom Manor's warding.

 

Why hadn't the Potters? Hermione knew that James' parents had died before Harry was born, he was the Head of his House-- why would he have let Dumbledore move them out of the Blood Wards when he was in control of them?

 

Without really thinking about it her feet brought her in front of Gryffindor Tower as she tries to make sense of it. Without realizing it she has started guessing passwords. And then she's crying. Why is she crying?

 

"What's wrong?"

 

It's Lilly.

 

"Granger?"

 

And James.

 

And she just wants to be home. She wants them to be Ron and Harry and for her to going home to _her_ dorm. She just--

 

 "I-- Can you please let me into the Tower?"

 

Lilly nods and says "Icarus."

 

The portrait swung open leaving her crying in the hallway with two confused students that held a passing resemblance to her best friends. "I'm not-- My name is Hermione Granger." She can't quite see how smug Potter looks through her tears but he's posture straightens and he throws a pointed look at Lilly. Dear God, he even gloated like Harry.

 

"Why lie?" The voice came from behind her, and she immediately turned on her heel. Remus Lupin sat in the corner of the common room, a very empty common room. He must have said it quietly because he looked surprised at being heard. Even if he looked younger, more alive, the same scars snaked their way up his throat onto his face. He looked almost disappointed at her revelation. A look she was glad she hadn't seen this look when he had been a teacher, it would have been terrible. As it was, Remus was still wearing a dog onesie, so it just looked like he was pouting. "Why lie about your name?" He said slightly louder.

 

Hermione snapped out of her confusion and into panic. She just threw her entire identity out the window! What was she supposed to do now?

 

"Why don't we move into the common room?" If Potter was still smug his voice no longer showed it.

 

"Or the Head's common room. It might be more privet?"

 

What was she supposed to do now? Part of her wanted to go into the Gryffindor common room and tell them everything because she knew if she went in there she wouldn't be able to lie to Harry's parents. But she'd have to. She took one last look at her old life.

 

"The Head's Common…" she said turning back to look at them, already trying to think of what she could tell them.

 

"Can Remus come?" James asked and Lilly swatted at his arm. "What he's a Prefect! He's just as responsible as I am."

 

"That's the problem." Lilly looked at him out of the corner of her eye, clearly annoyed at something.

 

"I--" She should say _no, he can't come_. He can't come because she will break. She had never liked lying to teachers and no matter how many times he'd asked them to call him Remus or how many years removed his time as a professor he'd be Professor Lupin in her eyes. But he was Professor Lupin and he was so young and the years had not been kind to him and she didn't want to lie at all. She wanted to fix everything. "It's fine."

 

Then they moved around the corner stopping at a painting she had passed a hundred times in her time and it just disappeared creating a staircase. The Head's Commons was not Gryffindor Common Room and no matter how nice all of it was she wished that she had allowed herself to go home for a while. Lilly and Potter--James-- sat on a couch leaving her a seat closer to the fireplace. At least there was a fireplace, she still hadn't been to the Slytherin Common Room but she doubted they had one. How could they, they were under the lake? Remus came up the stairs and leaned on the door frame. "Sorry by the way," he said.

 

"About what?" She shrugged, Remus was the only one who hadn't questioned her or followed her or… she hadn't really seen him at all now that she thought about it.

 

"He told us that if you were using a different name you probably had a reason. Wanted us to leave it alone. Leave you alone. I'm sorry I didn't listen to him… I--You're a Slytherin," she nodded at his reminder. "With everything going on… it's hard to know who's lying… but we knew that you were lying and we went a bit overboard trying to find out _what_ and _why_ you were lying because it was all we could do."

 

She kept nodding remembering Harry constantly trying to prove something. Always hating when the truth wasn't given to him straightforward. She could almost remember the last thing she said to him. Something about lying…

 

But the memory had escaped through time for now.

 

"I can't believe this." Lilly looked more exasperated than upset. "You're Head Boy. You were supposed to help the new kid, not harass her!"

 

"I thought--"

 

"I really doubt that," she glared at him. Hermione couldn't help the small smile on her face. They were bickering like an old married couple. Her smile dropped at the realization that they would never be old. They'd die at twenty-one.

 

"I am not Hermione Graves." Despite it being the truth it felt like a lie now.

 

"I'm a muggleborn." she figured out what she had to do. She wouldn't even need to worry about the map now, they'd have the answers they needed. She needed to lie. Hermione was no stranger to lying. She had done it first year after the Mountain Troll incident. She lied about why she was going to Myrtle's bathroom so often in second year. She lied to everyone and driven herself half mad third year. She didn't much like lying after that. "Hermione Granger, but you knew that…"

 

"Why lie?" Remus said shifting his weight to his other leg.

 

 _Shit shit shit_. She was in Slytherin now. She knew what she had to do. "The same reason you lie, I suppose." She held eye contact with Remus for a second too long. Hermione didn't want to think about the implications of that, but she needed them to realize she wasn't the only one with secrets one could see if they looked too closely. "The same reason everyone does. They can and it keeps them safe. For a time."

 

Remus stood up straighter but other than that he didn't seem affected by the statement. James was though. He heard what she said in truth. _I know your secret and I could keep it safe. Or I could not._ She knew she didn't have to do this. They were Gryffindor's and she wasn't even telling them the whole truth! To them, she would just be a muggleborn. But she needed them to not only stop bothering her about her name. She needed them to… leave. She needed to cut ties with the nostalgia the Marauders and Lilly brought with them.

 

"It's okay. You--" Lilly started but James leaned forward and interrupted her.

 

"But that doesn't really explain anything. You're a muggleborn. So are a lot of people. It's not like you knew you'd be placed in Slytherin! The other houses don't care! So, Why lie?" his voice stern and almost scary. "And don't threa--"

 

"James." Lilly cleared her throat. "She really doesn't owe you an explanation."

 

"But he is right." Hermione tried to bring tears to her eyes and it was easier than it should have been. She was lying, putting on a performance. "I'm so sorry."

 

_But what if she didn't lie?_

 

"I just lost my family. Everything really. And my home is gone," she was hit with the truth of this and started to sob. How much had she changed already? "Dumbledore said that it'd be safer, being a halfblood."

 

"It's okay. You don't have to say anything, explain anything. I understand how hard it is to be a muggleborn these days." Lilly moved to comfort her, kneeling in front of Hermione's seat. How could she not see that James-- _Potter_ was boiling over his edges, staring at her like a stag about to charge at a beast, antlers first, furious. She looked over at Remus. He noticed, he shook his head slightly at him.

 

"What do you-- What secret do you think you know?"

 

"Prongs She didn't say anything"

 

"James."

 

 _God, shit shit shit._ Harry wouldn't have called it out. Then again Harry probably wouldn't have picked up on her subtle threat, to begin with. Could she so implicitly blackmail them? Say it outright-- _You know my name and I know yours. Moony. I know, I know, I know I will never tell but I could and I need you to know that. I need to know that you won't tell._ She couldn't. "The Map." the tension of the room diffused. "I figured you were tracking me and I saw it hanging out of Pettigrew's bag."

 

"We wouldn't have told anyway. You didn't need to blackmail us into keeping your secret." Remus said.

 

It wasn't enough… she would always have this cave of nostalgia to crawl back to if she didn't tear the walls down now. _I'm a mudblood, you're a werewolf. There now we're both keeping each other's secrets._ "Thank you. I'm sorry."

 

James still looked suspicious of her. She was glad. She held all of their secrets in her hands, in her head and they needed a healthy dose of doubt. It might save their life one day. "You have nothing to apologize for. I'll make sure Sirius and Peter stop everything as well."

 

She got up, brushing invisible dust off her skirt. "Thank you." She went to pick up her bag, to leave the lion's den.

 

"But I know that’s not all."

 

Hermione's eyes caught James' then. What more could there be? "Peter says you know about the secret passageways. Sirius saw you coming out of a room even we haven't found. And--"

 

"I don't really sleep much. I get nervous in the--my dorms. So, I wander around at night and one day the door appeared and I never went back to my dorm again."

 

He still looked suspicious, like Harry he'd look for something wrong. "You sure do have a lot of answers."

 

"You have a lot of questions."

 

"Why were you looking at the ground in the secret passageway?"

 

After everything, this was how she would do it. Fucking Pettigrew. "I thought I heard a rat."

 

Silence hit the room. Even Lilly knew this time. Hermione couldn't help but wonder when she found out about Remus and when she heard about the three animals that kept him company on full moons.

 

"We're not going to tell anyone your secret," Remus repeated eyes not on her but on the back of James' head.

 

"I know," she whispered. She thought she might cry again.

 

"How much do you know and how do you know it?" Lilly asked her face stoned and her voice cold. She had blown the cave to bits.

 

"All of it. I knew before I set foot in this… this castle."

 

"How?" Remus looked like he might cry, too. This wasn't the man that she confronted in the Shirking Shake, who looked pained but proud that she had figured him out. He wasn't going to distract her with pleasantries and compliments or call her _the brightest witch of her age_ this time. He was terrified that after being at Hogwarts for seven years she would be the one to get him in trouble.

 

"I just knew…" It was a weak answer but she couldn't think to come up with a strong lie. Not now. "Your secrets are safe with me."

 

"Let me guess, our secrets are safe unless yours gets out," James didn't sound angry anymore, he sounded tired.

 

"I didn't want to tell you that I knew this secret. Do you really think I'd tell anyone else." she hated how small she sounded. Even though the crying she had kept her head enough not to lose her nerve but her confidence was slipping in the face of Lilly and James betrayed faces.

 

"Who else knows?" James asked.

 

"No one that you haven't told." She said knowing he wouldn't believe her.

 

"Regulus didn't tell you?"

 

He eyebrows raised without her permission. "No, I-- Does he even know?"

 

"He knows about Sirius," Remus told her.

 

"Oh, I suppose that makes sense."

 

"Does he know about you?" Lilly looked calmer but not by much.

 

"No. I'm Hermione Graves to everyone here."

 

"If I were you, I'd keep it that way." James stood up. "The Blacks aren't exactly accepting of blood types that they deem beneath them."

 

She knew that and yet she felt the need to defend Regulus. "He doesn't seem to mind that I'm a halfblood now. And I don't plan on judging him for his families past mistakes. I'd assume you agree with me? Being friends with his brother."

 

"Sirius isn't--"

 

"He's your friend and Regulus is mine. Let's not say anything more on them, shall we?"

 

"We won't say anything about this conversation if you don't," Lilly said softly.

 

Hermione wanted to be surprised that it was _her_ to finally say it, to finally explicitly make this blackmail, ensure their mutual destruction. But she wasn't surprised because she knows what it's like to through people under a bus to protect your friends. If someone was blackmailing Harry she wouldn't have hesitated for a second. If she were being honest with herself she was more surprised no one hadn't said it sooner. "Okay."

 

And she left. It was that simple. A few poorly placed words and now she would never have to see the Marauders again. A few choice words and she didn't have to worry about them for the rest of--

* * *

 

 She stopped in her tracks. She couldn't see an end to this. Or even the beginning.

 

Why was she in the hallway for the Room of Requirements? She turned on her heel and head back to the Gryffindor Common Room. Why did it feel like she had been crying? What--

 

She was supposed to be in class. A second ago she had told Harry that he couldn't lie about being sick to Slughorn just to follow Malfoy around on the map and suddenly it's nighttime. Was she losing time?

 

She shook her head and came to stop in front of the Fat Lady. "Icarus," she said it without a beat, without really thinking about the password.

 

Hermione Granger rubbed her eyes and sat down in the corner furthest from the entrance. No, she couldn't be losing time. She was home. 


	8. He Didn’t Understand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait  
> This was a hard chapter to write  
> Hope you like it though!

Hermione Graves wasn't at breakfast this morning which made Regulus very nervous. Partially because he knew he did something wrong, stole her journal, and partially because he knew she had a tendency to not eat when someone wasn't there to remind her.

Then she wasn't in class. That's when he began to worry because he has seen her go to class sick as all hell before taking a day off.

The second class of the day and Regulus couldn't pay attention to anything but the doors. McGonagall noticed, "Do you have something better to do Mr. Black?"

He looked back at the lesson. "Apologies, professor…"

Class continued on as usual. They were turning the tables into dogs today, which was easy enough if you could concentrate on the head. Regulus knew he couldn't concentrate today, so he was dreading it. "Mr. Black, can I speak with you for a moment?"

Crouch looked at him. Greengrass smirked. He was starting to hate them, they were so happy that he was miserable. He walked up the stairs behind McGonagall without comment. As soon as the door closed behind him he spoke, "I really am sorry, Professor McGonagall. I was simply distracted. I haven't seen… Ms. Graves seems to be missing from classes today. I--"

"I do understand," she said taking her seat. He had never been in her office before, it was much less cluttered than Slughorn's which has millions of momentums from past students, it was orderly and somehow comfortable. "I wanted to inform you of the situation with Ms. Graves."

Regulus sucked in a breath. He shouldn't care as much as he does, "There was a situation?"

"This morning one of my students found Ms. Graves asleep in the Gryffindor Common Room." She said it plainly, there was no question in her voice, no explanation she is looking for. He looked down at the floor. He knew she wasn't sleeping with the Slytherin dorms but the Gryffindor Common Room seemed like a strange choice. "She doesn't seem to remember anything that has happened since late August."

His stomach dropped. What did that even mean? How could she just forget two whole months? "I don't--"

"I realize, now, that you know nothing about this incident and are just worried about your friend." He felt his eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"What did you think-- What could I have known?" He said as politely as he could, losing his composure would not help him now.

"Nothing." She shook her head and tried to move on with the conversation. "She will be in the in--"

"Obviously, there is something. Someone who thought I was involved in her forgetting…" Forgetting him. They had been friends for less than two months, he only barely met her the first week of September. She wouldn't know him at all.

"Falsely."

Something about the way she said it told him everything he needed to know. "Sirius thought I did this. Why would-- if anything he has more reason to…" He shouldn't lose his composure. That's Sirius, not him.

"She will be in the infirmary for a while. Without visitors, as I'm sure you'll understand." He didn't really understand. She had known him yesterday and today she didn't.

"There was one thing missing from her possessions." Regulus tried not to seem tense or unworried or guilty in any way. "A brown journal with the Graves family crest on it? There was nothing in her dorm room and you are the only one close with her so it seems you’d be the one to ask."

He pretends to consider this for a second, pretends that the journal isn't in his bag untouched since he took it from her last night. Why had he done that? It seems so stupid now. "I've seen her with it. I don't think it ever leaves her bag unless she's writing in it."

McGonagall frowned. "Very well. If it turns up, bring it to Dumbledore's office, please?"

He nodded still swaying idly by the closed door. "Of course. Should I go back to class now Professor?"

She fixed him with a calculating stare. "I don't want to see the poor headless creatures you might create by any accident. You're dismissed." He nodded again and put his hand on the door to leave. "And Black?"

He looked back at her, she looks much sadder now. No, she was pitying him. "I am sorry."

Regulus left without looking up at Crouch or Greengrass, despite the fact that they were probably once again his only friends in the world. He should go to Dumbledore's office and give her book back. He should go to the infirmary and wallow and brood at the fact that she won't remember him.

That’s when Sirius rounds the corner.

Neither of them moves for a second. But he sees emotions crossing his brother's face quickly anger, confusion, curiosity, pity before settling back on the blank mask their mother had taught them as children. "You alright?" he asks.

He wants to tell him everything. What he feared was waiting for him over winter break, a mark that for a time he had wanted. When had he stopped wanting it? What he knew was happening with Hermione. What he knew Sirius had accused him of. "You really think I could do it. Just erase-- she's my friend."

Sirius' mask crumbled, his pity returning. "I shouldn't have said any of that."

"How-- She was in your Common Room. Who would have-- Do you know who found her?"

"James. She called him Harry a few times before she started crying." Sirius told him taking a few steps closer to him. "I thought-- she had some big secret. I thought you had found out and didn't like it."

"And you don't think that now?"

Sirius kept walking forward until they were right next to each other. "Yeah… I've only-- the last time I saw you cry was before I went to Hogwarts." Regulus hadn't realized he was crying, no wonder Sirius was pitying him. "I’m --"

“I don’t need your pity.”

“I know. But I think I miss you and you miss me. Lilly told—“

“You have your new family you don’t need me. And the m—” Regulus paused for a second. Lilly wasn’t his friend but she was always kind to him and insulting her would only make Sirius angry. “I only asked— I don’t need you either.”

“Maybe you don’t. But I do miss you.”

“Something bad is going to happen over Winter Break.”

“I’ve heard.”

“How—“

“You Slytherins aren’t that good at keeping rumors quiet. I didn’t know it was you though, I thought you had another year.”

“I don’t want it.”

“They can’t make you. Just don’t go home. I know we have our issues but you can—“

“I don’t need you to save me.”

He let out a long sigh. “Do you know why I left?”

“Mother disowned you.”

“No. I left because I didn’t want to take the mark. She disowned me because I left.”

“Oh…”

“I was never— you’re still my kid brother, even if I’ve been ignoring you. I thought you believed in their bullshit.”

“I did…for a long time. I don’t know when I stopped believing it actually.”

“Don’t go home.”

“I don’t have anything else. I’m not like you and the only person who wasn’t friends with me because of my blood is currently in the hospital wing with no clue who I am.”

“You can stay at Hogwarts.” Sirius faltered for a moment before quietly saying, “You can come with me.”

Regulus scoffed, “To the Potter’s? I’d rather not.”

“They’re good people. They’d help.”

“I’m not a stray dog for them to patch up. I don’t need that.”

Sirius smirked at the dog comment before his gaze turned pitiful again. Or maybe he was just sad. “Maybe you don’t." He turned away to walk down the hall before stopping again. "Maybe you do. Just think about it?” 

Maybe he would.


End file.
